Rapid assembly railing



Dec. 2, 1969 F. L. KESSLE'R ET AL 3,481,585

RAPID ASSEMBLY RAILING Filed April 19, 1968 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I/v VENTOPS fPnu L. KESSLEZ GTew-aep E Qwonu Dec. 2, 1969 F. 1.. KESSLER E AL RAPID ASSEMBLY RAILING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 1.9, 1968 12v vavroes fZHNK L (55462 STEPHEN (T (Ts/v0 United States Patent 3,481,585 RAPID ASSEMBLY RAILING Frank L. Kessler, 17 Vassar Road, Broomall, Pa. 19008,

and Stephen F. Kendall, 536 Sprague Road, Penn Valley, Pa.

Filed Apr. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 722,715 Int. Cl. E04h 17/16 U.S. Cl. 256-65 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a railing and method of making same wherein a pair of posts is provided with at least one dovetailed member or other locking member on each post and a further positioning member, both members being welded or otherwise secured to each post and spaced apart along the long dimension of the post. The rail member is provided by utilizing top and bottom shaped members, the two shaped members being interconnected by at least a pair of spindles, the top and bottom members being shaped to extend over the positioning member and the locking member. The rail members are so designed that one member thereof is positioned over the locking member and includes therein an extension or the like for locking with the locking member. The other rail section extends over the positioning member which provides the guiding means for positioning of the railing and, in one embodiment, also stops the downward travel of the rail sections by abutting the top portion of the railing.

This invention relates to a railing and method of making same and, more specifically, to a railing which is formed, preferably by an extrusion process, for easy and permanent installation at the job location.

Railings and methods of making and installing same have been well known in the prior art. However, it is always desirable to provide railings which can be installed at the situs of the job with a minimum of labor and skill and with maximum speed. It is also desirable to install such railings with a knowledge that the installation is substantially permanent and cannot easily be removed without the use of special tools or the like.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a novel railing and method of making same which can be installed on location without the use of mechanical fasteners or the like which can be formed in sections at the factory and which can be installed with a minimum of time and effort and which requires a low degree of skill for installation thereof.

Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a railing which is composed of a pair of posts having welded or otherwise secured thereto a positioning member and a locking member displaced from each other by a predetermined distance. Rail sections therefore are formed from extruded metal or the like, such as aluminum, and include a top rail portion for mating with one of the positioning and locking members and a second rail portion for mating of the other of the positioning and locking members, the rail portions being connected together by a plurality of spindles welded thereto. At least one of the rail portions includes a locking means thereon for locking with the welded locking member, whereby the rail sections and spindles can be fabricated at a factory and installed on location merely by positioning the posts with welded members into the ground and then passing the completed rail sections over and in locking relationship with the welded members to provide a secure and permanent railing.

ice

It is therefor an object of this invention to provide an easily assembled railing.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a railing which can be assembled at the job situs without the use of mechanical fastening devices.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a railing requiring minimum time and skill for installation.

The above objects and still further objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art after consideration of the following specification of preferred embodiments of the invention which are provided by way of example and not by way of limitation wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a view in elevation of a first embodiment of a railing in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the railing in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view of the locking member and locking means in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 to 4, there is shown a pair of posts 2, each post having secured thereto, by weld ing or the like, a dovetailed locking member 4 and a positioning member 6. The members 4 and 6 extend outwardly from the posts 2 for only a short distance, the distance being less than the distance from the post 2 to the first spindle 8 as will be explained in more detail hereinbelow. The positioning member 6 is provided with smooth sides.

A rail member is formed including a top rail section 10 and a bottom rail section 12 which are connected together by spindles 8 which are welded to the rail sections. The rail sections are formed from extruded metal, such as aluminum. The top rail section 10 has a top position and defines a cavity 14 having side walls for overlapping the positioning member -6 whereas the bottom rail member 12 includes an inwardly extending flange 16 for locking into the dovetail locking members 4. The spindles 8 are positioned inwardly from the rail section edges by a distance greater than the outward extension of the members 4 and 6.

The railing installed by first securing the posts 2 with attached locking member 4 and positioning member 6 into the ground or other supporting medium, the posts being spaced apart by a distance determined -by the length of the rail portions. The rail portions composed of the top rail member 10, the bottom rail member 12 and the interconnecting spindles 8 is preformed. The railing is now assembled by positioning the rail portion whereby the top rail member 10 is just above the positioning member 6 and the bottom rail member 12 is just above the locking member 5. A strong downward force applied to the rail portion will cause a downward movement thereof with the top rail section resting on the positioning member 6 which acts as a stop and the flanges 16 of the bottom rail member 12 locking in the dovetail portions of the locking member 6. The railing now cannot be removed except by aplying a strong outward force to the bottom rail member in the region of the locking members 4 to disengage the members, this requiring an extremely large force.

Referring to FIGURE 5, there is shown a second embodiment of the invention wherein the positioning memfber 6' is provided to replace the member 6. The positioning member 6' is positioned beyond the locus of points including the spindles and spaces therebetween. In this embodiment the locking member 4 and the positioning member- 6 can be rods extending between the posts 2.

-Referring-now to 'FIGU'REG," there" is shown "a third embodiment of the invention which is similar to the embodiment of FIGURES 1 to 4, however, the locking member 4" and the positioning members 6 have been interchanged and the flange 16' is a part of the top rail member 10.

Though the invention has been described with respect to specific preferred embodiments thereof, many variations and modifications thereof will immediately become apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A railing comprising a pair of spaced posts, a first pair of support members on facing sides of said posts, a second pair of support members vertically spaced from said support members on said facing sides, and a rail comprising upper and lower sections rigidly interconnected and supported on and embracing the sides of said first pair of support members and embracing the sides of the second pair of support members, and resilient interlocking means carried by at least one of the support members and the rail for locking the rail to the said support member when the rails are assembled thereto.

2. A railing as defined in claim 1 wherein the interlocking means comprises at least one recess and a locking flange extending into the recess.

3. A railing as defined in claim 2 wherein the flange is on the rail and the recess is in one of the second air of support members.

4. A railing as defined in claim 2 wherein the flange is on the rail and the recess is in'one of the first pair of support members.

5. A railing as defined in claim 2 wherein the flange is on one of the supports and the recess is in the rail.

References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,218,954 10/1940 Gustafson 256 22 2,815,937 12/1957 Curtze (it al. c 256-21 2,870,996 1/1959 H616; 256 22 3,009,549 11/1961 Miller. 1 3,239,070 3/1966 Clauson 25659 X 3,374,986 3/1968 McElroy et a1. 256-59 DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner 1 US. Cl. X.R. 25621 

